With permission marketing, the users addressed decide that they want to receive company messages. The channel plays an important role here, and push notifications are a new option here.
Introduction
Messenger WhatsApp or services such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat have fundamentally changed communication: Smaller “communication snacks” are in demand, but with a higher frequency. Everyone is also struggling for attention on this virtual stage.
This also increases the demands on marketing communication: it should appeal, inspire, inspire, involve, and establish an emotional connection. Above all, it’sits about increasing customer loyalty. In my view, permission marketing is an excellent tool for this.
What is permission marketing?
In principle, permission marketing is an old hat, which marketing guru Seth Godin already shaped in 1999. He was already guaranteed that traditional forms of marketing, such as TV advertising, i.e., invasive or disruptive marketing, would lose effectiveness because consumers want more control over the information they consume.
Consumers want to decide for themselves from whom and via which channels they receive content. According to Godin, the company must “earn” accordingly to get in touch with the customer. And: there must be the possibility to be able to “unlatch” again at any time. In this way, consumers received valuable news for them, making them feel connected to the company.
“Permission-based marketing is the privilege (not the right) to send expected, personal, and relevant advertising to people who want to receive it.” ” – Seth Godin
Permission marketing recognizes the new power of consumers to ignore marketing. At the same time, it includes the idea that respectful treatment is the best way to attract attention. Because “real” permission differs fundamentally from the implicit or behavioral agreement, as is typical but illegal practice with cookie consent.
This is not the only reason why permission marketing is back in fashion. The most significant advantage that permission marketing has over traditional forms of marketing is the higher engagement rate. After all, a permission marketing campaign is about maintaining a long-term relationship based on trust. It is not aimed at achieving immediate results, but rather at winning regular customers and strengthening brand loyalty.
Permission marketing is not aimed at achieving immediate results, but rather at winning regular customers and strengthening brand loyalty.
The newer permission marketing channels, therefore, combine the style of private exchange with professional marketing communication. This opens up the chance of a more intense bond between customers and prospects through more conventional and modern approaches. Every marketing professional knows that interested people can be more easily moved to specific actions. Because the engagement is high, the conversion rates in permission marketing are higher than in other forms of marketing.
Additional advantages:
- Increase in success: With permission marketing, companies reach those who expressly request it. This automatically increases engagement and conversion rates.
- Strong customer loyalty: With permission marketing, companies can advance their content distribution and bring users back to their website.
- Legal certainty: With consent, many data protection problems no longer play a role.
Permission marketing through push notifications
Permission marketing is often equated with newsletter marketing. Email and SMS marketing is still thriving but complex to implement and not always the best choice. In my view, push notifications as a contemporary form of in-app messaging have great potential.
There are four types:
- Web push: On a website, visitors can agree to receive messages. If this is the case, you will then receive news directly on your (lock) screen. Clicking on the word takes you to the target page.
- App push: For many notifications from apps, a connection via API to back-end systems makes sense. For example, information about travel bookings and the like can be sent. Also, any actions in the apps or more extended inactivity can trigger such notifications.
- Messenger push: WhatsApp uses 58 million Germans every day. Unfortunately, the messenger can hardly be used for advertising marketing communication. Therefore WhatsApp Notifications are only interesting for 1: 1 interaction and targeted messages such as reservation confirmations or appointment reminders. The same applies in principle to Facebook Messenger.
- Wallet Push: With Wallet Push, the website invites iOS visitors to add a “News Card.” After adding the card, recipients can receive messages. At the same time, the wallet card can be updated with offers, codes, and much more. It is also possible to add QR codes, loyalty functions, or geo-fencing. It is reasonable and sensible to use wallet push and web push simultaneously on one website.
Special case wallet push
Wallet push is of particular importance for another reason: after all, iOS users cannot be reached via web push, but this group makes up around 20 percent of the mobile market. Depending on the website, the proportion of users can be significantly higher, for example, 30 to 40 percent.
Wallet Push also proves to be a valuable marketing tool in stationary retail. After all, retailers are finding it increasingly challenging to bring physical bonus cards to men or women. If this is done digitally, there are new advantages. For example, it is possible to have the messages appear automatically on the lock screen at a specific time or a specified location, change their appearance and content, and send push notifications. The wallet provider can trigger the update of the card and the associated messages.
These notifications are an ideal tool to keep customers up to date and provide them with targeted offers. They can also be used to remind you of appointments or to send personal messages.
Examples of a push notification on a laptop and a smartphone
Push communication: advantages for consumers and marketers
In general, more than 10% of all consumers now agree to push notifications – and the trend is rising. This is not the only reason why technology offers many advantages for marketers:
- One-click is enough: In contrast to newsletters, customers do not have to enter personal data such as email addresses. A simple confirmation is enough. For this reason, the opt-in rate is particularly high.
- Immediate communication: Push messages are transmitted immediately and directly on the screen. This reduces the risk of going under and not paying attention. This results in high opening rates of 90 percent. In comparison, emails only reach 25 percent.
- Traffic boost: Relevant push messages have the potential to increase the traffic of websites significantly.
- Budget-friendly: In contrast to ads, SMS, or messenger services, there are no costs for sending or clicking.
- High conversion rate: Push messages to achieve click and response rates, just like the best times for email newsletters.
- GDPR-compliant: Since no personal data flows, marketers do not have to worry about the General Data Protection Regulation.
Best practices for setting up web push campaigns
Web push notifications can be created and sent quickly. However, they require a well-thought-out plan for maximum success, i.e., the highest possible recipient base and consent rate. The design and continuity of the appropriate shipping frequency are just as important as the relevance and attractiveness of the individual notifications.
Planning should begin by considering which exact goals are being pursued with push notifications and how to push marketing should be integrated into the overall communication and content strategy. This includes an audit of existing and planned content from all other marketing channels such as newsletters and blogs. Do you already have a content production and marketing action plan? Then this should serve as the basis for promoting the content and actions contained therein with push notifications even more.
Whether B2B or B2C – numerous notification occasions and hangers can be found for every industry. Here are some ideas to take advantage of the full range of options for push notifications:
- Notices of new content such as blog articles, white papers, videos, etc.
- Invitations to participate in events such as online seminars or store openings
- Product and assortment news: For software and cloud services information about new releases, eCommerce notifications about new, re-available, currently trendy articles or top sellers.
- Promotion of special offers and discounts
Some event occasions for which notifications are available are apparent because they are directly related to the sender’s core business: the upcoming Mother’s Day for flowers or the impending onset of winter for tire dealers. However, with a little imagination and ingenuity, many other occasions are conceivable as hangers for notifications: from the birthday to the time change to the lunar eclipse. It is important to note that the event and information must always match the product or offer and its users.
The keys to successful push notifications
Subscribers can expect useful, relevant notifications such as educational tips, exciting news, or attractive deals. At the same time, the recipients want to be addressed emotionally. Different announcements that arouse curiosity are easy to grasp, refreshing to read or helpful, and scored particularly well. Also, Humor often comes good.
Here are more tips.
- Timing: The opt-in invitation should not appear immediately upon entry, but only after a short period (a few seconds later). An additional call via exit-intent shortly before leaving the website can be a successful strategy to keep in touch with users. Last but not least, the opt-in can also be linked to order, registration, or the like. In general, it makes sense to play out the opt-in dialog on as many pages as possible and to only do so on individual pages, such as the career section of your website.
- Time: When addressing private individuals, Saturday and Sunday noon have proven to be particularly successful periods for sending messages. In the business environment, however, Tuesday to Thursday, early in the morning or in the evening, are more promising. It is recommended to test different days and times to find the ideal times for push messages.
- Dialogue type: By default, the opt-in invitation is placed on the actual website. So the user can only continue surfing when he interacts with the element. Other overlay options for opt-ins are message bars that appear above or below the website and therefore do not cover the actual site and sliders that enter from one side. Opt-in triggers can also be integrated into the pages themselves as an element.
- Optical design: Ideally, dialogues should be adapted to the look & feel of the website or your corporate design.
- Textual design: There are two basic strategies for texting, which also affect the graphic options: either a more factual text that is very much based on standards of browser dialogs, or a deliberately more creative approach that comes across as high advertising. In general, however, the following applies: short and concise sentences with a clear call-to-action are preferable. It is also essential to highlight the advantages for users.
- Incentivizing opt-ins: It is common in e-commerce for newsletters: visitors to the shops are offered a discount voucher when they register for the newsletter. Such an additional incentive for opt-in is also possible for web push notifications.
- Freedom of choice: It is also helpful to let the user “subscribe” to decide on which topics or occasions he would like to receive information and not only to accept this based on the tracked behavior. This is particularly important when there is a very complex bouquet of offers.
- Personalization: With permission marketing, companies address people who are interested in their products or services. It can, therefore, be assumed that the news is highly relevant. Personalized content that fits the current position within the customer journey or the person’s interests and preferences is particularly attractive. Personalization is particularly capable of increasing the utility value by sending offers and tips to match the items you are currently viewing or buying.
- Variety: experimentation is required both in the design of opt-in invitations and in the news. The range is also needed for events and content. It’sIt’s not just about bargains, it’also sits about entertainment, a look behind the scenes and much more.
Conclusion
Push notification marketing is the channel that creates a direct path to users. Used correctly, this form of permission marketing promises rapid integration, high conversion rates, and increased customer loyalty. It is essential to understand that segmenting subscribers and customers into different areas is vital nowadays due to different interests.
Those who know their target group, understand them, and send proper notifications to combine valuable content for the target group with their marketing messages—a win-win situation for companies and customers alike.
